Will be completed in three phases over 10 years, minister says. PHOTO: AFP

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Science and Technology Rana Tanveer Hussain said the Pak-China Science, Technology, Commerce and Logistic Park would be established in Islamabad at the cost of $1.5 billion.

Hussain, addressing a press conference, said it would be set up as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and serve as a platform for technological and commercial linkages between the two countries besides promoting investment and financing, e-commerce and research and development.

The Minister said Pakistan would provide 500 hectares of land for the establishment of the Park and all other investment would be made by China. He said three sites had been tentatively identified and a delegation of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corporation would be arriving this month to finalise the site.

He said that the foundation stone of the project is expected to be laid in March next year and it would be completed in ten years in three phases. The minister said that this project would create job opportunities for 1,500 Pakistanis.

The minister stressed the need to move towards latest technology from obsolete one in order to compete with the rest of the world. In this regard, the government would allocate bigger share of the budget next year for the promotion of science and technology, he added.

The minister said that COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), under the administrative control of Ministry of Science &Technology, had been holding Pak China Business Forums since 2012. In the forum, COMSAT invited Tech companies from China to participate with the main objectives of attracting Chinese investment in joint ventures in Pakistan.

The size of investment is not dependant on the number of jobs being created. Investment is always based on how much profit it can generate.
What Karachiite meant was that the exhorbent ammount of money was due to the size of the Tech park to be built.
You can build a huge warehouse, which will only have typically 5 employees, while a smaller structure for a superstore would have more employees. But the warehouse would cost more and generate more profit, hence the justification for spending more money.Recommend

Why not build this technology park in Gilgit Baltistan which is the gateway to CPEC, nice weather, highly educated population, just install a solar power plant and your energy requirements are resolved.Recommend

CPEC is corridor linking Gwadar with China through Pakistan. Pakistan is spending money stipulated for road and bridges etc on orange train and tech parks etc.Is there any one to check what will happen when the allocated FE will be drained out.Recommend